Mooring for airships and the like



B. A. FRAZER AND L. F. G. SIMMONS.

MOORING FOR AIRSHIPS AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 16. 1919.

1,378,341. Patented y 17,1921.

,INVENTORS 1E.A.Fraze1- Q5176. Simmon BY %d ATTORNEY PA'ENT 1" ROBERT ALEXANDER FRAZER AND LEONARD FREDERICK GEORGE SIMMONS, OF TEDDINGTON, ENGLAND.

MOORING FOR AIBSHIPS AND THE LIKE.

Patented May 17, 1921.

Application filed December 16, 1919. Serial No. 345,388.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT ALEXANDER FRAZER, and LEONARD FREDERICK GEORGE SIMMoNs, both subjects of the King of Great Britain and Ireland and both residing at The National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, in the county of Middlesex, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Moorings for Airships and the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the mooring in the open of airships and the like.

Hitherto for this purpose it hasbeen proposed to employ three mooring cables of equal lengths conn'ectedat one end to a common swivel or connection upon the airship and at their other ends to three fixed bollards on the ground at the apices of an equilateral ground base. Assuming the moored airship provided with an adequate:

reserve of buoyancy it will be clear that the point of connectionv with the airship remains fixed and all three cables are under tension provided that the direction of the resultant force on the swivel passes within the base triangle. In a heavy wind gust such that the direction of this resultant force passes outside the limits of the ground base, at least one cable must slacken and the airship proceeds to ride down about those members of the cable system which remain in tension. 0n a sudden cessation of the gust, the recovery of the airship to its original position may be attended by a very sudden tightening of the slack cable or cables, with the result that impulsive stresses are liable to be introduced in the cables and upon the airship, which may ultimately prove disastrous.

The object of the present invention is to modify the form and arrangement of mooring so that the above diificulties and disadvantages will be obviated, and to improve the general dynamical stability of the airship, and according to our invention we employ a plurality of mooring cables, each cable len h passing over one or more swiveling pul eys supported at definite positions relatively to the ground or over auxiliary moving swiveling pulleys carried by one or more fittings common to a number of cables and moving with the system.

The invention also consists in a mooring system comprising a plurality of mooring cables or the like connected at one end to a v common swivel upon the airship, and at the other ends toa commonring or fitting, the intervening lengths of cable passing over pulleys mounted at definite positions in relation to the ground on strops or gimbals. The position of the swivel relative to the airshlp is to be chosen according to the specification of the airship such as to assist inpromoting the dynamical stability of the mooring. The strops or gimbals are to be such as to admit of the-pulleys swiveling and assuming the different alinements appropriate to the various displacements of the airship.

More specifically the invention consists in a mooring of the above character comprising three mooring cables, in which the swiveling pulleys over which'the mooring cables pass are arranged at the apices of an equilateral ground base.

The invention also consists in a mooring of the above character, in which the pulleys are carried by pillars, standards or the like so that they are arranged at a. definite height above the ground surface.

The invention further consists in other details and arrangements hereinafter more particularly referred to.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figures 1, 2 and 3 illustrate diagrammatically three modes of carrying out the invention.

In carrying our invention into effect in one convenientmanner as illustrated, for example, in Fig. 1, we provide three mooring cables (1 attached to a common swivel or other fitting 6 upon the airship or the like 0, the lower ends of the mooring cables being secured by rings d or other attachments to a continuous cable 6 passing over three swiveling pulleys or other suitable devices 7 situated at the apices or an equilateral ground base.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 2 the mooring cables a'connected at one end to the common swivel 1) upon the airship c have theirlower, ends passed over swiveling fixed along the external bisector of one side of the equilateral ground base. The four center rings a g are interconnected by fixed lengths of cable is constituting a form of quadrilateral linkage.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 3 we provide at the apices of an equilateral ground base swiveling pulleys or the like f over which pass respectively each of three mooring cables at of suitable construction and material, the cables being connected at one end to a swivel or other common point of attachment 6 upon the airship while the other ends are connected to an iron or steel or other ring or commone fitting Z arranged to be freely movable over the ground under the influence of movements of the airship or the like. In this last arrangement the orientation of the ground base is preferably such that the outward direction of one ground cable opposes the direction of the prevailing wind at the station at which the mooring is arranged.

In any of the modifications of the invention the airship on displacement moves along an arc of a geometrical-1y defined surface while the mooring adjusts itself so that within wide limits all the mooring cables are continuously maintained in tension.

The swiveling pulleys or the like may be arranged upon the ground although with certain types of airship and with certain arrangements of the cables we prefer that they should be carried upon pillars or sheerlegs in order to .reduce the lengths of the cables actually lying'upon the ground surface as otherwise the frictional resistance of the ground upon the cable lengths might impose too severe a braking effect which would impede the free movement of the mooring system.

Conversely with certain types of airship where additional braking is required we may connect some part of the mooring system with a. disk shaped or other skid or the like of wood or metal arched upward at the under surface rim following the design of a ski, the disk being adapted to be loaded for braking purposes with sand, water, or other ballast and to ride readily without ploughing over the ground.

For such free mooring systems as those above described the air ship should be maintained by ballasting at a definite angle of kite with its elevators at a definite angle in order to limit the travel of the system and to maintain the altitude of the airship in heavy winds, the most suitable angle for the purpose and the lengths of the mooring cables and the dimensions of the base being suitably determined according to the specification of the airship or the like to be moored.

It is to be understood that the foregoing details of construction are given by Way of example only as we may modify the construction, arrangement and number of mooring cables, the manner of connecting the same to their fittings, airships swivels or other points of attachment and the means adopted for permitting the free movement of the mooring system to suit the particular type or construction of airship or the like to be moored or any particular practical requirements that may have to be fulfilled.

Moreover it will be obvious that the invention could be applied equally well with airships moored over water, it being only necessary in such case that the ground pulleys of the various systems be carried by floats suitably anchored in water.

It would also be understood that where the term pulleys is used in the specification and claims it is understood as including any other devices or fittings which may be usefully employed in an equivalent manner.

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is V l. A mooring system for airships and the like comprising a plurality of cables attached to the airship and freely movable over swiveling pulleys anchored at definitepositions relatively to the ground substan tially as described.

2. A mooring system for airships and the like comprising a plurality of anchoring cables attached at one end to the aircraft to be anchored, means linking-the other ends of said cables together and intervening ground pulleys over which said cables freely pass substantially as described. I

3. A mooring system for airships and the like comprising a plurality of anchoring cables attached at one end to the aircraft to be anchored, means linking the other ends of said mooring cables to one another and means whereby the mooring system may be freely movable to follow movements of the aircraft so that all the said cables shall be maintained in tension substantially as described.

4. A mooring system for airships and the like comprising a plurality of anchoring cables attached at one end to the aircraft to be moored, a plurality of pulleys located at definite ground points relative to the aircraft and over which the mooring cables freely pass and means linking the free ends of said cables to one another substantially as described.

5. A. mooring system for airshi s and the like comprising a plurality o mooring cables, a common fitting upon the aircraft to which said cables are attached, a plurality of ground pulleys and a continuous cable connected with the lower ends of said mooring cables and with said ground pulleys,

substantially as described.

6. A mooring system for airships and the like comprising three mooring cables, a common fitting upon said aircraft to which said cables are attached, ground pulleys arranged to form a triangular base, a continuous cable passing over said pulleys and means movably connecting said continuous cable with the free ends of said mooring cables, substantially as described.

7. A mooring system for airships and the like comprising three mooring cables, a fitting upon the airship to which said cables are attached, a ring at the lower end of each of said mooring cables, three ground pulleys arranged to form a triangular base and a continuous cable passing through said rings and over said pulleys, substantially as described.

8. A mooring system for airships and the like comprising three mooring cables, a common fitting upon said aircraft to which the cables are attached, a ring on the lower end of each of said mooring cables, three ground pulleys arranged to form an equilateral ground base, and a continuous cable passing through said rings and over said pulleys, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification.

ROBERT ALEXANDER FRAZER.

LEONARD FREDERICK GEORGE SIMMONS. 

